How rubbish removal is priced
Most licensed collection firms, including us, work out the cost of rubbish removal from the space your waste takes up in the vehicle. The usual unit is the cubic yard. You pay for the volume you fill, and the price normally covers the labour to carry and load it, the transport, and disposal at a licensed facility. That differs from a skip, where you pay for the whole container however much you put in it.
Our guide prices start at £155 for a 1 cubic yard load and rise to £640 for a 12 cubic yard load. The sizes in between are listed in the next section. These are guide prices, so the figure for your job is confirmed once we have seen photos or a description, and always before anything is loaded.
What a cubic yard of rubbish looks like
A cubic yard is a cube measuring three feet along each side. Few people think in cubic yards, so it helps to picture bin bags instead. One cubic yard holds about 10 standard bin bags. Bulky items are harder to judge because they do not pack down the way bags do, which is why a photo gives a better estimate than a guess. Our guide prices by load size are below.
- 1 cubic yard £155, 2 cubic yards £225
- 3 cubic yards £250, 4 cubic yards £275
- 5 cubic yards £300, 6 cubic yards £320
- 7 cubic yards £360, 8 cubic yards £400
- 9 cubic yards £460, 10 cubic yards £520
- 11 cubic yards £580, 12 cubic yards £640
Want a price for your job?
Send a photo on WhatsApp and we will confirm a clear price before we load. Guide prices start at £155.
What affects the cost of rubbish removal
Volume is the starting point, but two loads of the same size will not always cost the same. The reasons are practical ones. Some waste costs more to dispose of, and some jobs take a team much longer to load. These are the things that move a quote up or down.
- Type of waste. Mixed household rubbish, rubble, soil and electrical items go through different disposal routes, and some cost more than others.
- Volume. The more space the load takes up in the vehicle, the higher the price.
- Access. A pile on the driveway is quicker to load than items carried down from an upstairs flat or along a back alley.
- Heavy lifting or dismantling. Dense materials, and anything that must be taken apart before it fits through a door, add time.
How the cost compares with other options
A paid collection is not always the right answer, and it is worth checking the alternatives first. Your local household waste recycling centre accepts many items from residents, although you need suitable transport and the rules on vans, trailers and certain materials vary by council. Many councils also run a chargeable bulky waste collection for a limited number of items, which you normally have to leave outside. Check your council's website for what applies where you live.
Good furniture and working appliances may be wanted by a charity or reuse scheme, and retailers often take the old item away when they deliver a new one. A skip suits waste that builds up over several days, though one placed on a public road normally needs a permit from the council. Our guide to skip hire vs man and van compares the two. A man and van rubbish clearance includes the loading and the disposal, so it makes most sense when you lack the time, the transport or the strength to do the job yourself.
How different jobs are priced
The same load size pricing applies whatever the job. A few large items booked as a bulky waste collection take up little room in the vehicle, so they fall towards the lower end of the price guide. A full house clearance can fill a vehicle or need more than one load, so the quote is built from the total volume. With wait and load, the vehicle is loaded while it waits and leaves in the same visit, and the price again reflects the space used.
Jobs with heavy materials, such as rubble or soil, are worth describing carefully, because the type of waste affects the price as well as the volume. For anything unusual, send a photo and we will advise before confirming a price for the load.
How to get an accurate rubbish removal quote
- Gather the waste in one place if you can, or note which rooms and outbuildings it is in.
- Take clear photos that show the whole pile, with something for scale such as a door or a wheelie bin.
- List anything heavy, awkward or unusual, such as rubble, paint tins or a fridge.
- Describe the access: floor level, stairs, parking and how far the vehicle will be from the waste.
- Send it all in one message and ask for the price to be confirmed before the collection starts.
We give free, no-obligation quotes from photos or a description, and the fastest way to get one is to send a photo on WhatsApp. The price is confirmed before loading starts, with no hidden fees. Whoever you use, be wary of a price far below every other quote. Disposing of waste properly costs money, and you have a duty of care to pass your waste only to a registered waste carrier. It is quick to check a waste carrier licence before you book.